The idea behind this project, for the App Development course, was to submit it to a contest aimed at improving medicine through technology.
Casas' team received first prize, which will allow them to continue their research and further develop an app that demonstrates how the convergence of academia, medicine, and technology has given rise to a company dedicated to humanizing the medical field.
Together: An App to Improve Quality of Life for Breast Cancer Patients
Juntas is an interactive app designed to improve the quality of life for breast cancer patients from a dermatological perspective. The team of doctors with whom Casas worked on Juntas was awarded the 2022 La Roche-Posay Research Grants Latin America prize, presented by the L'Oréal Group.
The project, titled “Interactive Mobile App to Improve Quality of Life in Patients with Stage I–III Breast Cancer: A Multicenter, Non-Randomized Controlled Cohort Study from a Dermatological Perspective,” aims to transform the way breast cancer patients experience their treatment and medical care.
The primary goal of this innovative tool is to connect patients undergoing treatment for breast cancer with their medical team in a way that is both technologically advanced and simple, yet compassionate.
Through the app, you can connect with dermatology specialists and nurse navigators, who provide support and guidance.
Juntas not only provides a direct channel of communication between patients and their medical team, but also offers informative resources on skin, hair, and nail care, as well as topics related to sexuality and mindfulness.
In addition, patients can report adverse skin reactions and systemic symptoms, allowing doctors to assess their condition and provide personalized advice and recommendations.
This is particularly relevant, as scientific studies suggest that between 50% and 80% of patients undergoing cancer treatment experience adverse skin effects, and 57% of breast cancer patients experience anxiety before starting treatment, with hair loss being the most common concern.
The "Juntas" app project on which Marcos Casas worked was selected from among 13 outstanding proposals in the field of dermatological research in Latin America.
An international panel of dermatologists was tasked with selecting the winners. The award given to this team will enable them to continue developing the app, which is currently in an intermediate phase with a prototype ready for implementation
The ongoing research focuses on testing the hypothesis that using the Juntas app will significantly improve patients’ quality of life. To confirm this hypothesis, a field study will be conducted at two leading Uruguayan hospitals, the British Hospital and the Hospital de Clínicas.
A total of 200 patients will be monitored, divided into two groups of 100, with one group using the app and the other not. All participants will complete questionnaires assessing their dermatological quality of life. This will allow us to determine whether the group using the Juntas app experiences a better quality of life compared to the control group.
Speaking about the experience and recognition of Marcos Casas’s work, Martín Cladera, the project’s instructor and mentor, highlighted the significance of the challenge behind Juntas. In this regard, Cladera stated:
Personally, I’m very happy. The moment Marcos told me he was going to take on that project, I knew it would be a major challenge, and I told him that the most important thing was to make the team of doctors understand that, for him, it was going to be a university project. I think Marcos managed to balance the tasks involved in both projects well, without neglecting the purely academic objectives.
Cladera, who holds a bachelor’s degree in Multimedia Design from Universidad ORT Uruguay, also noted that during the mentoring process, it was important to guide the student so as not to lose sight of the app’s purpose—given that users are going through a difficult time—and to remind them of the importance of clearly articulating their ideas.
In addition, regarding the tools and skills required for this job, Cladera stated:
I believe the program provides all the tools needed to tackle this type of project. By the time students reach their final semester, they have mastered all the essentials for developing an application, allowing them to delve deeper into specific tools that enhance quality and even engage in discussions with other team members, since they cover all the relevant topics.
When asked what factors students interested in developing innovative solutions like Juntas should take into account, Cladera reflected:
My advice applies to any area of development: you need to understand the problem at hand in order to come up with solutions that are truly effective, and you should never lose sight of the end user—this is extremely helpful when defining features and design. In this case, I think it was a huge benefit for Marcos, but also a major challenge.
If the app is confirmed to have a positive impact on patients’ quality of life, the doctors’ goal is to roll it out to all breast cancer patients and adapt it for other types of cancer that also affect skin health.
This achievement pays tribute to the hard work and dedication of Uruguayan female physicians and highlights the importance of the convergence of academia, medicine, and technology for the benefit of patients—a collaboration in which Casas is actively involved.